Friday, November 11, 2011

Therefore, when Christ came into the world, he said: “Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me; with burnt offerings and sin offerings you were not pleased. Then I said, ‘Here I am—it is written about me in the scroll— I have come to do your will, my God.’ ”

God was tired of the manner in which the people of Israel offered sacrifices. They did it out of a sense of duty, not because they desired to please God or simply be in relationship with Him. Sacrifices were only offered to stave off punishment – it was all about maintaining the letter of the law rather than the spirit of the law.

We know exactly what that looks like.

How many Sundays have you dragged yourself and your family out of bed, argued the entire morning and then show up to church because you know if you aren’t there, someone will notice and might make a comment. If there are more of these Sunday mornings than you care to acknowledge, you are offering sacrifices God is not pleased with.

How many times have you let the offering plate go past you, hoping no one notices that you don’t much anything in – or maybe you put a pittance in – because you are trying to pay off bills for things you didn’t really need. You are offering sacrifices God is not pleased with.

There are so many more examples of this in our lives today, but fortunately we have a Savior who stepped into the middle of all of this and said, “Here I am … I have come to do your will, my God.”

This is finally the offering that God was pleased with and we are the recipients of the grace that comes with that sacrifice.

Our sins are just as great as the Israelites when it comes to true worship of God. We can’t set that aside, but Jesus can and He did.